Thursday, August 22, 2013

A must read before sending your college kids back to the dorms.

Tips To Keeping Colleges Bed Bug Free

With bed bug populations on the rise, protecting your dorm or apartment from bed bugs has become a growing concern among college students and university officials. Bed bug sightings have increased dramatically in recent years in public places frequented by students including libraries, movie theaters, and malls. As students are settling in for another school year, there’s one routine they should add to their daily repertoire – checking their school items for bed bugs.

Suggested tips for checking for bed bugs:
• Store backpacks and other big items in Tupperware containers.
• Use resealable plastic bags for smaller school items.
• Dissolvable Laundry Bags are great for college students worried about bringing bed bugs into their dwelling or home to their parents for a weekend or break - these help to isolate clothing until they are able to be laundered.
• Interception devices are one of the most cost effective ways to keep an eye out for bed bugs.
• Bed encasements is another way to further protect your home and provide you with the ability to detect infestations early on.
• Portable heating devices, which heat treat items that can’t be laundered can be an advanced form of protection against bed bugs.

“With bed bug reports in public setting on the rise, students should be aware that, although unlikely, bed bugs can be found in schools and there is little a college or university can do to prevent this from happening,” says Jeff White, Technical Director at BedBug Central & host of BedBugTV, an online podcast. “Therefore knowing what bed bugs look like and what you can do to reduce the chances bed bugs are brought home with you is an important step in the bed bug prevention process.”

White just finished filming a new BedBug TV episode bed bugs in schools – college, where he discusses a few easy steps college students can take to reduce their chances of bringing bed bugs into their dorm or apartment.

One popular myth is that bed bugs prefer unsanitary, urban conditions. The reality is, bed bugs are nondiscriminatory and can be found anywhere from prestigious private schools, state universities to inner city schools. With more and more schools reporting bed bug outbreaks each year, it’s important for college students to be aware and know it’s extremely simple for these pests to hitchhike a ride home with you.